The former Royal Asiatic Society building
Far from the maddening crowds on the Bund, the Rockbund Art Museum on Huqiu Lu (虎丘路) is a favored destination that singularly embodies the East meets West history, design and architecture of…
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The diversity of design in shikumen headers
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The Invisible Stain of Japanese Comfort Houses in Shanghai’s Lilongs
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Conversations: Jie Li on “Shanghai Homes: Palimpsests of Private Life”
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A history of the (underground) printing press in Shanghai’s shikumen
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“Chairman Mao Goes to Anyuan (安源)”: A Mural in Siwen Lane (斯文里)
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Elaborate lattice woodwork in Confucius Lane (孔家弄)
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My favorite Shanghai moments for Vogue
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Neighborhoods
The simplicity in patterned wood
I’ve always liked the predictability and soothing effect of uncomplicated patterns. This was one reason why I found myself standing in front of a discreet entrance off the…
The diversity of design in shikumen headers
What makes a shikumen (石库门) header an architectural tapestry so emblematic of Shanghai? The grey stone pediment, shaped in a triangle or semi-circle, contains designs that range from the…
Conversations
Conversations: Maureen Fan on the legacy of architect Robert Fan Wenzhao
My interview with Maureen Fan about her grandfather, Robert Fan Wenzhao (1893-1979), has been long overdue. What started as an introductory email several years ago grew into a…
Behind the camera: K.S. McMullen on filming docu-fiction ‘Nail House’
I love hearing from passionate artists who reach out to share their works – photo essays, poems, short films – a reflection of their time, consideration and dedication….
Behind the Camera: Alessandro Zanoni on Shanghai’s urban landscapes
In the years of photographing Shanghai, I’ve had a chance to meet a wide array of talented photographers and researchers as enthusiastic about documenting the city as I am. They…
Latest Posts
The first step is the hardest … and we’re back
The silence has been deafening around here, no? The guilt that has ballooned over my absence from the blog nags at me constantly, only made worse when I…
June 26: China’s Changing Megacities
[Note 17May 2013: You can learn more about the policy-oriented speaker series at Hopkins China Forum and about the group Young China Watchers.] As part of the monthly…
What I am reading
I’ve been quite tied up preparing for a private exhibit at my workplace based on my China in Central Asia work. The satisfaction of curating and planning a…
Cradles of Civilization in Uzbekistan
I returned from Uzbekistan a little over a week ago with a nasty bug. It was likely from the few days I spent in Bukhara where the dry desert…
A Xinjiang Trade Fair in Tashkent
I shared earlier that I was in Uzbekistan doing some documentary work on Chinese influence in Central Asia. Some of my photography has been appearing on the project…
What I am reading this week
Greetings from Tashkent, capital of Uzbekistan! I’m here helping to document a few things as part of the China in Central Asia project headed up by my colleagues…
What I am reading this week
It’s Labor Day holiday weekend here in China and we get Monday and Tuesday off. In Europe and Latin America, we often see organized street demonstrations and marches by labour…
Book Review and Giveaway of “Shanghai Shikumen” (上海里弄文化地图)
UPDATE: Congratulations to Patrick, the 10th commentator! Random.org picked you out of 18 commenators. Drop me an email via the contact sheet and I will dispatch the book to…
What I am reading this week
There are moments when I feel like a hamster on wheels, moving through the motions of work, travel and welcoming Shanghai visitors, and having the cycle on rinse…
The Astrid Apartments
Over a month ago, on a cloudy spring afternoon, I found myself standing in front of a spectacular Art Deco building, all eight floors of mustard yellow and…
The history of a Shanghai villa
Update: The Atlantic has published “The Elegant History of Shanghai’s Rundown Communal Villas” which I wrote based on this post. But I had the luxury of adding more…
A modern Ningbo History Museum and other sites of note
The Qingming holidays was spent with a pleasant 2.5 hour drive to Ningbo, a trip that would otherwise have taken 4 hours if not for the never-ending Hangzhou…
What I am reading this week
Apologies for the prolong absence. I’ve been away from Shanghai 3 weekends in a row, friends visited and work proved to be a little hectic. On the bright…
What I am reading this week
– I want to thank Paul French, who has been vigorously travelling to promote his historical mystery thriller book “Midnight in Peiking“, for giving Shanghai Street Stories a plug…